I’m not sure if I told you guys this but basically, Rachael Ray taught me how to cook. (My chef brother and chef uncle are probably groaning right now, as they’re not the biggest Rizzle fans). All of the ladies in my family are fantastic cooks, but growing up, I didn’t have much to do with the cooking process. I just ate it 😀 So anyway, the summer I stayed with the pilot in North Carolina -right before his first deployment to Afghanistan and a year before we got married… I was out of school for the summer, so I stayed with him for a few months- I didn’t have a ton to do while he was at work. I took awesome classes at the gym, laid by the pool, watched FoodNetwork and made something different for dinner pretty much every night I was there. Most of the FoodNetwork recipes were extremely intimidating at the time so Rachael Ray’s were the only ones I would attempt. Needless to say, there were a ton of kitchen disasters (like the sloppy loaf… meatloaf that had to be eaten like sloppy joes because it was so watery), but after that summer I had the confidence to get in the kitchen and try, which led onto other things 😀

Before I leave to teach, I’m going to grate goat gouda on top, which will be melty, bubbly and waiting for the pilot and I to get home 😀

For lunch, I munched a salad beast:

Roasted brussels and a baby butternut squash:

Ahhhhmazin’ 😀

I’m off to practice for Zumba, then teach class and train a client.

Have a wonderful night!

xoxo,

Gina

Something to talk about: Who taught you how to cook?? I learned my skills mostly from FoodNetwork along with some tips from my chef brother and my madre 😀

Something to do: Keep working on those inspiration boards! Jenn has already started hers 😀 Mine isn’t quite done yet but I promise to post it as soon as it’s finished. I want it to be pretty, since I’ll be looking at it for an entire year 😉

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67 Comments

Beckyon January 5, 2010 at 12:28 pm

I hope you enjoyed your trip to Pigeon Forge. I live about an hour and a half away, so I go there often. I am a lurker. I have been reading your blog close to a year. Whats your advice on working out when you have 3 kids (ages 7 months to 10 years)? I work part time and my husband works a job plus teaches at night. Not to mention the kids activities and homework. I am trying to loose 30 lbs and want to work out more. Is working out 4 times a week enough for weight loss? It seems to be all I can fit in. I love reading your blog!!

The Rachel Ray cookbook is a great one. I learned a lot of tips from the blogworld (ladies like yourself) and some from my mom. One of my friends happens to be an awesome cook, so I always watch her too!

My vision board is getting there! I will definitely be posting the finished product 😉

You are such an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your ideas, recipes and enthusiasm. I tried out the recipe for Calabacitas Casserole and it was a monster success! I wrote about it here: svcrafty.org.
Tomorrow I am attempting my first full day of raw eating and starting off with the famous breakfast cookie.
Thank you again for creating such a great, positive space on the internet!

I’m so glad to see you include RR. I totally get made fun of when I use her recipes, but some of her stuff is so simple yet creative! I’d say if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be near as adventurous as I am now. 🙂 Although, the recipes from her magazines aren’t near as good as her cookbooks.

Hi, gorgeous! I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to The Fitnessista, a healthy lifestyle blog emphasizing quick workouts, quick recipes and adventures as a wife and mom. Though I am a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor and weight loss specialist, the information posted here is not intended to substitute the advice of a medical professional. Please check out the about page for more info. Thank you for reading! ❤️